Jonathan WinskyMalan and Jonny Bairstow’s partnership has given England a base from which they can post a total that would put them in a position to win. However, we will have to see whether England can seize this opportunity.

That didn't happen.

Quote:

Jonathan Winskyif they can take some wickets both before and after the second new ball becomes available 18 overs into day three, then they will have a chance of a first innings lead

Agree SC2,all gone now.
No doubt the ECB will call for an enquiry as to what went wrong.
Maybe I can help them here....would playing t20 during the summer months be something to do with it?
Playing the game that FEEDS THE TEST SQUAD,county cricket in April,May and September 'might' have something to do with it as well.
ECB should take their heads out of the sand and see what they are killing,all to keep sky on their side.
Ok,I know t20 is a cash cow,but....open your eyes and see what is actually going on,they don't want county cricket,this then says let's slowly get rid of test cricket.
4 day tests mentioned? That,ladies and gents,is just the start of it.
Get ready for a long,rocky journey,and I don't just mean this ashes series.

If we were doing this badly in an unimportant T20 competition the solution would be, 'Play 20 domestic T20's (instead of 14 per team), even more franchise T20. reduce championship still further, (to accommodate more T20), and send as many players as possible to the IPL (thus missing first six weeks of english season)'.

But will anyone at ECB think the solution to such a poor Ashes showing is to reinstate 16 championship matches (9 teams per division) with a decent number of the games being played in July and August?

Erm, No.

Because proper fans, who care about the longer game aren't the target audience.

We already know that. They want 'new' fans. The sort that don't care about the Ashes, and just want somewhere to drink for three hours per evening in the summer, when there's no footie to go too.

A rare beast indeed that one with a World Cup this year,European Championships in two years time,we see about 3 weeks of the cricket season with no football(if you don't count pre -season/post-season tour games from China/Australia/usa by the top sides doing sponsorship tours rather than resting players and refreshing them,training becomes two games a week and players are physically knackered by the start of the following season.

Much of a muchness with cricket then,domestic season,overseas tour,IPL,CPL,IDKWT20 and then back to the UK for the following season is happening to a few players already and will become more common with the growth of the @#$%& that was spawned when T20 was born.

The money men think it's great,the product user I'm sure is happy at the moment (Sky/BT), as for the punter (County member or cricket fan) we can all see the road this is going down and when the TV money goes away and we are left with next to nothing maybe someone at the ICC/ECB/MCC will put their hands up and say we managed that very badly.

The early close for today and the forecast of rain until about 1:00pm AWST (5:00am GMT) tomorrow gives England hope of escaping with a draw. However, Australia will feel that once play resumes and they can take a couple more wickets, they will be within sight of going 3-0 up and regaining the Ashes. Like a lot of British followers, I fear that I will wake up tomorrow morning to find that England have either lost or are close to losing.

Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow have already put on 32 not out for the fifth wicket, but they could do with getting their partnership closer to the 237 they put on in the first innings.

Alastair Cook’s innings of 14 has generated more speculation about his future. However, as I have said, it still seems unclear whether there are any better opening options than him. If Mark Stoneman can make a Test century at some point, then maybe the selectors would feel they are in a position to replace Cook. Sam Robson, Adam Lyth, Nick Compton and Keaton Jennings all registered a century before being discarded, so I don’t know where that leaves Stoneman.

At least James Vince played really well for 55 and was only dismissed by an excellent delivery from Mitchell Starc, so that will take some pressure off Vince.

Just checking if there are any Englishmen from Uxbridge involved in this ?

Wouldn't think it would you, on the day the Aussies are to win back the urn they go and make a cock up like letting water in under the covers.

Won't be written up in the Press as such though, water goes where it wants,when it wants as we found out a Uxers last season, we employed heat lamps the WA boys appear to be using leaf blowers to dry their strip, the sun would be a better assistant but appears to be being English today and not putting in much of an appearance.

The Diamond ruled okDamp under the covers delays start of day 5 !!!!!
Just checking if there are any Englishmen from Uxbridge involved in this ?

Wouldn't think it would you, on the day the Aussies are to win back the urn they go and make a cock up like letting water in under the covers.

Won't be written up in the Press as such though, water goes where it wants,when it wants as we found out a Uxers last season, we employed heat lamps the WA boys appear to be using leaf blowers to dry their strip, the sun would be a better assistant but appears to be being English today and not putting in much of an appearance.

"hould never play another Test there , rubbish ground etc etc" .

Like your sarcasm Diamond in comparing the WACA with Uxers. As you say, apart from being incompressible, water goes where it wants and finds its own level.

However, the Aussie juggernaut was not held up for long. A lead of 259 higher than a number of our scores.

And yes the WACA will still be used, it's in the heart of Perth,probaly has listed status and there is no problem with housing land on the edges of the City (it's a bloody big country beyond Perth cobber!).

AFL(rules) has the Subiacco Oval but may well use the new stadium,Subi being a way out of the City but with good transport links though, it is however about 10 years old and already starting to look old and tired.

As for the cricket , our lad did well in this Test , as for the rest of them,not many can hold their heads high at the moment.

This was England’s eighth successive Test defeat in Australia, equalling a run of results between December 1920 and February 1925, when they lost 5-0 in 1920/21 and lost the first three Tests on their way to a 4-1 defeat in 1924/25. That defeat in 1920/21 was England's only defeat by that margin until 2006/07, but it is looking increasingly likely that England will lose by that margin in this series for the third time in the space of four tours.

On Cricinfo, George Dobell has written another article lamenting ECB’s attitude to county cricket and how they seem to value making money above giving England the base to win matches overseas.

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